Why do christians cry about not being able to pray in public when Jesus said not to?

this is twisting scripture for the purpose of making a lie. it is a dangerous thing...to your soul.

Jesus said, PRAY ALWAYS. We are to be in prayer, no matter where we are. It is the HYPOCRITES, who do it only for show, to make themselves look like something they are not.

they do NOT HUMBLE themselves to a closet. It means to pray alone, to get in touch with god. and then pray outside to show we are not ashamed of our God.

You are in great error. Jesus never said NOT TO DO IT. He said, do not do it as a hypocrite.

No Chance, you're trying to read what Jesus meant, not what he actually said. No wonder there are so many different interpretations of the Bible.

2 Shepherds: He said when you pray, go into your room and close the door. How much clearer could it be? He didn't say "it's OK to pray publicly with the right attitude." He said, "Pray this way." It's pretty sad when I, an atheist, have to defend what Jesus said.

And truthbearer says that you are actually endangering your soul by interpreting it this way. What??? The original questioner is simply reading what it says.

You can't just look at the first verse, where he says don't be like the hypocrites. In the second verse, he tells where to pray and does not mention any other place. Doesn't adding to the Scriptures endanger one's soul?

Jesus was what? He considered to be all man and all God at the same time.e said those words ,representing the things that mankind would say when God had to lift any and all snes of his presence from him.Jesus rep all mankind on the cross and after his death therefore what he said would testify to that account.Jesus prayed to the Father,there are three persons that make up what's is called the "God-head" talked about in colossians.The Father being/rep the first ,the Son whom is Jesus Christ the 2nd and the third position which the holy Spirit is said to hold,all are equal but hold different positions within the dynamic.He died physically but would be raised again,all he gave up would be replaced /given back to him by the other 2.He said no man takes his life but he gives it up so He can take it again.

I've not heard Christians cry about that. Jesus was referring to an attitude and showed that who we are privately shows who we are publicly. Our relationship with God is indeed personal and private, but there are occasions when public prayer is appropriate, say before meals at a restaurant or at a funeral gathering.

@spectrum: No Chance Without Jesus is correct. Read the quoted scripture, and you will see it's indeed about attitude: not to be like the hypocrites He mentioned.

*shrug* Hypocrisy sucks. But like the man said, they've got their reward...

I may not follow God's laws very well myself, but I more than make up for it by pointing out everyone else's flaws.

Jesus said not to pray in public to be SEEN

you got to learn nuance

This would require Christians to actually read the Bible. What a silly notion!

They don't read the bible. I'm so glad I broke away from that nonsense